Safety attachment for elevators.



H. -KURZ.

SAFETY ATTACHMENT FOR ELEVATORS.

Patented Feb. 29,1916.

3 SHEETS SHEET I.

Y H M ATTORNEYS WITNESSES:

H. KURZ.

SAFETY ATTACHMENT FOR ELEVATORS. APPLICATION FILED JULY 3,1914.

1,1733%. Patented Feb.29,1916.

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ATTORNEYS flNlTED SS ATE @FEEG.

HERMANN KURZ, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALE TO WILLIAM J. BAUER, JR., 015 NEWARK. NEW JERSEY.

SAFETY ATTACHMENT FOR ELEVATORS.

Application filed July 3, 1914.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, l-innMANN Ktmz, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety Attachments for Elevators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates, generally, to safety appliances for elevators; and, the present invention has reference, more particularly, to a novel safety-attachment 1n the form of pivoted clutch-arms or bars which, upon the breaking of the cage-carrying cable will automatically, by gravity, be brought into frictional holding engagement with the guide or side-rail upon the dropping of the cage, whereby serious accidents and loss of life are prevented.

The present invention has for its principal object to provide a novel and simple, as well as an efiiciently operating safetyattachment for elevators, the clutch-arms or bars of which, upon the breaking of the cable, are adapted to grip the elevator siderails with a gradual resisting efiect, so as to prevent any sudden stoppage and extreme jarring of the elevator car or cage, the gripping portions of the clutch-arms or bars being provided with resilient gripping elements which, upon engaging the side-rails aid in throwing the clutch-arms to their complete operative position in gripping contact with said side-rails, whereby the dropping car is brought to a stop.

Other objects of the present invention not at this time more particularly enumerated will be clearly understood from the following detailed description of'the invention.

' WVith the various objects of the invention in view, the said invention consists, primarily, in the novel saftey-attachment for elevators hereinafter set forth; and, the invention consists, furthermore, in the novel arrangements and combinations of the several devices and parts, as well as in the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 29, 1916.

Serial No. 848,722.

details of the construction of the said Darts, all of which will be more fully described in the following specification, and then finally embodied in the clauses of the claims which are appended to and which form an essential part of the said specification.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is an elevation of a fragmentary portion of an elevator-car or cage and the side-rails, with a safety-attachment, showing one embodiment of the principles of the present invention, mounted upon the body of the car or cage, the clutch-arms or bars of the safety-attachment being shown in their normal position out of gripping engagement with the side-rails, when the car or cage is suspended by means of an unbroken cable; and Fig. 2 is a similar View of the same devices and parts, showing the clutch-arms or bars in their retained and gripped relation with the side-rails when the cable is broken. Fig. 8 is a detail transverse vertical section, taken on line 3-3 in said Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrow m; and Fig. 4 is a top or plan view of the devices and parts represented in said Fig. l, with the side-rails shown in cross-section.

Similar characters of reference are employed in the above described views, to in dicate corresponding parts.

Referring now to the several figures of the drawings, the reference-character 1 indicates the fragmentary portion of any suitably constructed elevator-car or cage, and 2 indicates the usual cable.

The reference-characters 3 indicate the side-rails between which the car or cage moves up and down, said rails being suitably secured in proper positions to the side walls of the clevatornvell, or to the usual steel frame-structure sometimes employed.

Suitably secured upon the roof of the car or cage 1, usually by means of bolts 4, or other suitable fastening devices, are suitably constructed uprights or standards, as 5, these standards being arranged, usually, in pairs so as to provide spaces 6 between them, and suitably secured upon the upper end-portions of said uprights or standards 5, by means of bolts 7 and angle-irons 8, or other suitable fastening means, is a suitably construct e'd crossbar or tie-plate 9. This crossbar or tie-plate 9, at its middle, is preferably made with a hub 10 which is formed with an opening 11, intoancl through which the cable 2 extends, substantially as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings. Suitably connected with each pair of the said uprights or standards 5 are suitable pivotbolts, as 12, which extend across the said spaces 6 between the said pairs of'up'rights or standards Fulcrumed upon said pivotbolts 12, by means of elongated slots or holes, as 13, are a pair'of clutch-bars or arms 14-, in such a manner, that the armportion 15 of each bar is shorter than its arm-portion 16, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. The free'end-portionsl'? of the arm-portions 16 are preferfablv made 1n enlarged form so as to provlde 20 additional weight, and the purposes of which enlarged portions 17 will be selfevident. As shown in the several figures of i the drawings, tl1e said enlarged portions 17 of the respective clutch-arms or bars 1a? are arranged side'by side, and are p'lvotally convnectedby means of a bolt '18, the said bolt also carrying a suitable clevis, as 19, or other suitable means of suspension, to which the 'end of the cable 2 is suitably attached.

In order to properly guide the car or cage 1 during its up and downmovem'ents, and "also to keep the clutch-arms or bars 1% in "properalinement with the side-rails 3, the end-portions of said clutch-arms or bars are suitably forkechas at 20,'a'nd in the crotch of said forked portions, are suitably gripping or binding members or elements, as2l,

which are made ofra suitable material hav- 'ing' resilient properties, such as rubber or the like.

H The manner of securely suspending the elevator-car er cage, and the manner of "normally retaining the clutch-arms or bar by means of the cable in their angular relation to eachcther, and so that the gripv ping or binding elements 21 are kept from engagement with the side-rails 3, as long as the cable 2 remainsunbroken is clearly repbinding elements 21 it will be evident, that pin case of a break in the cable, these ele-' ments will permit of a gradual retarding action between the elements andv the siderails 3, so that the car or cage 1 will not be I resented in Fig. 1 of the drawing; and the manner of bringing the gripping or binding elements 21 into frictional retainingengagement with the side-railsis clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the dra wings,and'need,therefore, not be further described. v

With the use of the resilient gripping or stopped too suddenly, thus preventing sudden jarring and serious shocks to any person or persons inthe said car or cage, and, furthermore, they prov de by the checking or resistance theyoflfer to trav ekon'the siderails a means which' aids iiicompletely throwing the clutch-arms 14 to operative positions.

If desired, and as'illu s trated in Figs 1 and 2 of the drawings, the side-rails 3 may be provided with suitably formed recesses, as 22, at suitable intervals in the rails, sa'id recesses being formed with stops,'as 23, with which the lower portions 24 of the spread clutch-arms or bars 14: are adapted, at the proper time, to be brought into arrested and.

supporting engagement.

, Of course am fully'jaware that changes may be made in jthe'gneral"arr'ahgemefits and combinations of the variousdevices and jparts, as well as in the detail'sof the con struct'io'n of "the said lparts as s'et' 'torth in the foregoing specification 'and"as'"de'fined in the clauses 01''" the claims without departing .from the scope of my presentinvention.

Hence, I do not limit my presentinvention' to the exact arrangements and seminarians of the [several devices :and artgasfaescribed in "thesaid specification,"nor do I "the construction of the said parts'as' illiistritt'ed" in the accompanying drawings;

I cla1mi7 V W a 1. In a safety-appliance for elevators, in

combination with an elevator-car, standards mountedupon said car, and ati-platsecuredto and connecting the standards, pivotbolts connected with said standards, clutcharms havingelongated slots for ful' cruming 'said clutch-arms upon said i p a pivct-bolt for piv'otally connecting the in-3' ner end-portions of thesaid clu'tch arins, a

2- "In a safety-applian e for elvatorsfin standards, said tie-plate being ii'ormed with a tubular hub for the passage'therethrough v of E? cable, pivot b'o-lts connected with feach pair of standards,'clutch arms havingelon gated slots for slidably fulcrumingTsaid clutch-arms upon said pivot-boltsandbetween-the standards, a pivot-bolt for-pivotall'y'co'nnecting the inner endportiolnsof said "clutch-arms, a means of suspension connected with said last-mentioned pivotbolt; to which "said cable J's-attached, side-ra ls having stop-notches fthereiii "with wh'1ch' the outer ends 0 f-said- 'clutch -ai-ins combination With an ele'vator car,-of asup porting cable, standards mounte d'in pairs near each side of "the carfand a tie-plate mounted upon and secured tothepairs'of will engage, and a resilient gripping ele- In testimony, that T claim the invention Inent connected with the side-rail engaging set forth above I have hereunto set my hand end-portion of each clutch-arm adapted by this 30th day of June, 1914.

frictional resistance when engaged with said HERMANN KURZ. side-rails to throw said clutch-arms in en- Witnesses:

gaging position relative to said stop- FREDK C. FRAENTZEL,

notches. FREDK H. WV. F RAENTZEL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latents,v Washington, D. C. 

